Please tell me why this flat isnt selling?

[curiouscat1987]

Posting this for a family member. Flat has been on the market for months and not only hasnt had any offers but hasnt even had a single viewing! The price was in line with the area, but has been dropped twice and agent changed too with new photos but still no viewings. Its a lovely little place, not the biggest but lovely and bright and quite modern. Im not the best at design etc so would appreciate any thoughts on what they could do to improve the desireability or improve for the photos etc to get some more interest?

Obviously they know they can drop the price, however if they drop it much more they'll be selling for what they bought for 10 years ago!

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/156450941#/?channel=RES_BUY

Thanks everyone ☺️

The flat isn't selling because no one is willing to pay that much money for it.

Well.....I like it ! You have presented it very well and its so clean and tidy with no clutter at all.

I have recently had estage agents value my property and know how long it actually takes to make rooms look good ! Its really tiring so well done !

Personally I think its off putting to see the ton of houses or flats the agent has put in the separate photos !!! I've checked the street view which looks nice.

One word of advice Easter time is when most people are in the mood for buying.

The sloped roofs would put me off 😔

Didn’t notice the E energy rating. Blimey! Is that right? Seems very low for a recent conversion with double glazing. It means it could never be rented out under new rules. Everything everyone says. The listing is TERRIBLE.

There's still a lease as odd as it may sound!

I don't like sloping roofs personally. Also, looks like floorplan measurements for kitchen/lounge are incorrect. Either they are too small or if the room is that small this is the problem.

My son (25) is currently looking for a first time property but there is nothing about this flat that would even want him to book a viewing. Sorry, but actually struggling to see any positives with it. Even if it was £200,00 he said he'd not be at all interested.

Yes, but as I understand it, the freehold can only be held within a company. So in effect it's still a leasehold flat but each leaseholder owns a share in the freehold company. That company has to make annual returns to Companies House annually.
Whether the on going maintenance costs are paid monthly, yearly, or on a 'as required' basis, it still amounts to a service charge.
The only flats I've ever seen without a regular service charge set up, are properties that are in huge disrepair because no one wants to pay into a communal fund to maintain the whole of the property.

Yes it is - you can actually see the house. Some roofs come to point - but at least one has a 'flat' roof for part of it. This flat is clearly a loft conversion, I had to use google maps to have a close up look

Another thing that could be done is get another agent to value it.

I dislike the sloped ceilings, I'm tall and would feel very hemmed in.

It's also tiny.

I'd not want to view

The photos are very deceiving as they give the impression of high rise but I don't think there are high rise flats in this location. High rises are difficult to sell as many lenders aren't interested post-Grenfell. Some photos of the exterior and communal entrance would be helpful for context.

The price is also way out of line with what would be expected in this area for a restricted headspace flat with no outside space. I would also try using a local agent who specialises in sales rather than property management. Beaumonts are very good as are Sawyer & Co.

its share of freehold (was purchased whilst theyve owned it), so the price is inline with other equivalent flats that are also share of freehold rather than leasehold

Someone else has linked a maisonette, with outside space, up for £325K which is also share of freehold, so that plus the fact that there's been no interest is a strong indication that it is not priced in line with the current market.

With selling everything you need to identify your market, so who would buy this flat? Not me thats for sure and I imagine no one in my position so I think you can safely rule out large families and disabled people.

You market is probably single or couples and from the photos maybe people under 5 foot 5 lol.

The photos across all the other houses are awful. Makes it look like it’s in a rabbit run and the photos make it look minuscule. And it’s 320k!! There’s nothing positive about it from the photos.

1. It's far too expensive for what it is
2. The sloped ceilings make it feel cramped and would put a lot of people off, especially taller people
3. Share of leasehold will put another chunk of buyers off - how much is the ground rent etc going to cost/length of lease/responsibilities for maintenance of the entire building/unexpected costs if the building needs major work etc.

The photos aren't good. Just makes it look like the whole place, is very small, has little, if any storage and the sloping ceilings would put me right off. From the photos it looks like you would be very likely to bang your head in the kitchen and in the bath or have to make sure you stoop while washing dishes etc.

No parking, that I can see, either. This might very well suit a single person, prepared to put up with the sloping ceilings, but much too expensive for many/most single people. Not so much suited for a couple in that space when half of it looks unusable with the sloping ceilings

As someone said upthread - a recent similar but much better property was recently sold for a LOT less than this one - and it has a lock up/garage

Ditchling Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 | Sawyer & Co Estate Agents

Ditchling Road is extremely long and it doesn't look anywhere close to the actual centre of Brighton. Definitely not within walking distance and for that price you could certainly get a flat closer to town.

The predominantly cold blue & grey decor makes it look like a single man's apartment. Not that there's anything wrong with that but it looks like a tiny student flat and not really an investment property. It would be reasonable for 250K but not over 300K.

Share of leasehold will put another chunk of buyers off - how much is the ground rent etc going to cost/length of lease/responsibilities for maintenance of the entire building/unexpected costs if the building needs major work etc.

How is this different from any other flat?

I was with a friend last week who was on the phone to a Brighton estate agent, (coincidentally about a different flat in Ditchling Road). The estate agent told him, and I quote exactly, that there's 'thousands of flats currently for sale in Brighton'.
I imagine this is probably due to all the landlords selling up before the Renters Rights Bill comes into force, as well as a build up over time of existing owner occupiers wanting to move, but a lack of first time buyers coming into the market due to the high costs, means they are stuck.
I think this particular flat is over priced, particularly as Ditchling Road is a hilly main road and parking is difficult too, and that it's in the attic which is well known for being hot in the summer and cold in the winter.
I also suspect that they overpaid in 2015, as prices in general in the area have increased quite substantially since then.

@BoldRed share of freehold doesn’t mean no service charges though and can often be an even bigger bun fight than traditional leasehold if there’s no proper management committee.

I hadn’t clocked at all that it was a period conversion as you’d have hoped it would have retained some features rather than looking like a hard wall box in the sky. Whoever did those windows on purpose in a period house should not be allowed near a conversion again.

Is there a shower as well as a bath?

The photos from outside are unclear - which house/part of the house is it? Are these views? From which room?
The fridge in the kitchen blocking half the window jumps out as something concerning to me, nowhere better to put the fridge makes me feel like the layout is awkward?
More photos showing the layout of the kitchen/diner and rooms from other angles would be more worthwhile that the outside pictures.
I don't love the look of the half/sloping windows, a bit off putting unless that's standard for the area?

The measurements are all wrong. The kitchen can’t be 13 foot long. Must be at least 20 look at the size of the bedrooms.
Like others have said, keep one photo with a slope and ceiling the rest use other photos

Eight photos and three of those are of the view. Why? It has absolutely no warmth to any of the photos. Every room looks like the inside of a fridge 😐